The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Stenotaphrum secundatum, commonly identified as St. Augustine grass, which has been given the variety denomination of ‘PAL42’. Its market class is PLT/392 and is commonly classified by the ornamental horticulture industry as a warm season turf grass.
Parentage: The new Stenotaphrum secundatum cultivar is a seedling selection resulting from an open-pollination breeding program conducted from 2004 to 2012 at a commercial plant breeding facility in Clarendon, NSW Australia. ‘Pal42’ is a seedling selection from said breeding program which resulted from the open pollination of proprietary accessions developed from progeny of Stenotaphrum secundatum ‘SS100’ (U.S. Pat. No. 9,395). Beginning in 2004 and continuing in 2005, said accessions were planted into community propagation trays and allowed to cross pollinate. In 2006, the resulting seed was harvested from said propagation trays and was subsequently sown which resulted in approximately one hundred progeny that exhibited improved plant vigor. These seedlings were potted into 140 mm nursery pots and grown on for evaluation. In 2007, the number of candidates was reduced to thirty-two progeny that exhibited a combination of superior vigor and turf quality when compared to other candidates in the breeding program. The number of candidate progeny was further reduced to five later in that same year. The following year, all but two candidate progeny were eliminated from the breeding program. At this time, both candidates were asexually propagated to expand the sample size of the breeding trials. In the summer of 2012, one of the remaining two candidate progeny was selected for its fast growth rate, greater internodal spacing of the stolons, improved disease resistance, and improved frost tolerance.
Asexual Reproduction: ‘PAL42’ was first asexually propagated by division of rhizomes in 2008 in Clarendon, NSW Australia. ‘PAL42’ has since been further asexually propagated by means of cutting and division of rhizomes. The distinctive characteristics of the variety have remained stable and true to type through successive cycles of asexual propagation.